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Theme from Star Trek
The "Theme from Star Trek" (originally scored under the title "Where No Man Has Gone Before"http://youtube.com/watch?v=vH0aSwFKacw and also known informally as the "Star Trek Fanfare") is the instrumental theme music composed for Star Trek: The Original Series by Alexander Courage. It is played in its entirety during the opening credits of each episode. It is played over the closing credits, albeit without its signature opening fanfare. During the opening credits, the theme's opening fanfare is accompanied by the now-famous "Space: the final frontier" monologue spoken by William Shatner (with the exception of the pilot episodes, and ). Throughout the opening credits, the theme is punctuated at several points by the flying towards and past the camera. These "fly-bys" are accompanied by a "whoosh" sound effect created vocally by Courage himself. (Documentary: Music Takes Courage: A Tribute to Alexander Courage) Conception and original use Creator Gene Roddenberry originally approached composer Jerry Goldsmith to write the theme for Star Trek. Goldsmith, however, had other commitments and instead recommended Alexander Courage. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) commentary) Courage was not a science fiction fan, referring to the genre as "marvelous malarkey." He thus saw the theme he was writing as "marvelous malarkey music." Courage composed, orchestrated and conducted the theme in one week. He drew inspiration from a song he heard on the radio as a child called "Beyond the Blue Horizon". This song had a drawn-out tune with a steady, fast-paced beat underneath it which Courage emulated when composing the theme. (Documentary: Music Takes Courage) The theme used in "The Cage" – the unaired first pilot – featured wordless melody line by soprano Loulie Jean Norman supported by electronic underpinnings. When a second pilot was ordered and the series was picked up, Norman's vocalizations were dropped from the theme. The first season of The Original Series used two versions of the theme. The initial ten episodes used a mixed electronic/orchestral arrangement for the opening credits, with the main melody line created electronically and accompanied by more traditional instrumentation, including a flute and an organ. For the pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", this version of the theme played over both the opening and closing credits. The closing credits for the other nine episodes, however, used a version that had only an orchestral arrangement. The mixed arrangement was last heard on (the tenth episode aired, although it was the second episode produced), after which the show opened with the orchestral-only arrangement. Vocalization and lyrics For the second and third seasons, Loulie Jean Norman wordless accompaniment was re-added to the theme. However, Norman's voice was made more prominent than it was for "The Cage". When originally written (and as heard in "The Cage"), Courage had Norman's vocalizations and the various instruments mixed equally to produce a unique sound. According to Courage, however, Gene Roddenberry (whom Courage described as a "sex maniac") had it re-recorded with Norman's accompaniment at a higher volume above the instruments, after which Courage felt the theme sounded like a soprano solo. Roddenberry's version can be heard during the opening credits of each episode in the second and third seasons; Courage's version is heard during the closing credits. Further souring the relationship between Roddenberry and Courage, Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the theme without Courage's knowledge – not in the expectation that they would ever be sung but in order to claim a 50% share of the music's performance royalties. Although there was never any litigation, Courage commented that he believed Roddenberry's conduct was unethical, to which Roddenberry responded, "Hey, I have to get some money somewhere. I'm sure not going to get it out of the profits of ''Star Trek". http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/trek.asp Later use Portions of the Theme from ''Star Trek have been used in all ten ''Star Trek'' feature films. Courage himself created several "Captain's Log" cues for using a subdued version of his original theme at the request of the film's composer, Jerry Goldsmith. http://trekmovie.com/2008/05/28/star-trek-composer-alexander-courage-dead-at-88/ The theme's opening fanfare was adapted by Goldsmith as the opening of the Star Trek: The Next Generation theme (which itself was an adaptation of Goldsmith's theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture). Courage's original theme can also be heard in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode and the Enterprise series finale, Courage's theme was re-recorded for the [[Star Trek: The Original Series#Remastered|remastered Star Trek episodes]], with Elin Carlson emulating Norman's wordless vocalization. Michael Giacchino, the composer for 's directed by J.J. Abrams, has stated that he will incorporate Courage's theme into his own score for the film. http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=45151 Other recordings and uses TOS star Nichelle Nichols recorded a disco version of the theme. However, Nichols used differently lyrics than those written by Gene Roddenberry. The late jazz musician Maynard Ferguson and his band also recorded a rendition of the song, a fusion version that was released on his 1977 album Conquistador. Ferguson's version was used as the opening theme for The Larry King Show on the Mutual Radio Network. The satirical rock band recorded a version of the theme, as well, using Gene Roddenberry's lyrics. The 1992 Paramount Pictures comedy Wayne's World was the first non-''Trek'' to use Courage's theme. In the film, the character of Garth Algar (played by Dana Carvey) whistles the theme while he and Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) lie on the hood of Wayne's car looking up at the stars. When Garth finishes the tune, he tells Wayne, "Sometimes I wish I could boldly go where no one's gone before. But I'll probably just stay in Aurora." The theme can also be heard in the films Muppets from Space (1999, starring F. Murray Abraham) and RV (2006, starring Robin Williams and featuring Brian Markinson). At the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards, William Shatner and opera singer Frederica von Stade performed a live version of the theme, with Shatner reciting the opening monologue and von Stade singing the wordless melody line. External links * Category:Star Trek music